Mbeya City Overview | Mbeya Safari Tours
Mbeya City Overview | Mbeya Safari Tours | Tanzania Travel Guide | Southern Tanzania Safari Tours | Climb Mount Kilimanjaro | Beach Holidays Zanzibar | Airport Transfers | Tanzania Travel Guide
Mbeya City Overview
Mbeya is the large agricultural capital of southwestern Tanzania (275,000 inhabitants), in a region of beautiful scenery. A large missionary centre, the city was only founded in 1927 by the British. This period is also the period of the gold rush as precious minerals were discovered. Today, the race has faded, but Mbeya continues to provide his golden weight every year. Situated about 100 km from the Zambian border and 860 km from Dar es Salaam by road (which never ends!), it is a beautiful city at an altitude of over 1,700 m, at the foot of mountains rising to over 2,400 m. Although few tourists come here, Mbeya (pronounced [Mbea]) is well worth the detour.
This agricultural region is still little explored by visitors. As the second largest coffee producing region in Tanzania, but the best in the whole country (to the point of having gained popularity in Germany), Mbeya is an important trading centre as it is the only major city between Iringa, Malawi and Zambia, both by road and by train on the Tazara Line (Tanzania Zambia Railway). We also grow tea and bananas.
A few million years ago, it was the scene of very violent volcanic and seismic activity, which today is responsible for the presence of numerous craters, gorges and deep river valleys. So it is worth visiting for example the waterfalls of Kapologwe (in Makete), Nzovwe, Mlowo, Salala, Kitekelo, Nagwamo, Nyihemi or Nyengenge.
Best Safari tours from Mbeya
Often overlooked by many safari operators in favour of the northern parks, the southern parks of Nyerere National Park (formerly the Selous Game Reserve) and Ruaha National Park are worth serious consideration and are the preferred destination for most who are really keen on their safari.
The benefits of heading to the south is that, where the very north of the Serengeti gives the numbers of game, along with some seclusion, the southern parks are still very much “frontier” parks and so are noticeably less busy (they also feature the same spread of species as the north, but more like a thousand, rather than 2 million).
The second important point is that, where the average lodge cost in the north is around $700 per person per night, the lodges in the south, where they offer a similar experience, are around $2-300 less.
The south and west of Tanzania are often overshadowed by the more famous and iconic Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in the north. Some agents feel that the south and west are better suited to the seasoned safari-goer and don’t recommend them for a first timer – however we would disagree! We have sent thousands of first timers to southern Tanzania where they have had an excellent safari experience.
More about Tanzania Travel Guide:
Planning your trip? Whether you’re looking for things to do in Tanzania such as events and attractions, key traveller information to make your Tanzania visit run smoothly or are planning where to stay in Mwanza, you’ll find everything you need for your Tanzania holiday on Our Website. Tanzania Travel guide has the information about latest events not to miss while you visit Tanzania – there’s always something going on, so don’t miss out on the latest exhibitions, shows and more on your trip Tanzania
Discover the best day trips from Dar-es-salaam or other Tanzania’s Cities. If you’re here as a family, you’ll find plenty of things to do in Tanzania with kids and find suitable accommodation such as Tanzania holiday apartments. Whether you’re looking for the best weekend breaks in Tanzania or planning a longer holiday in, you can be sure you’ll find all the information you need.
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